£50k in savings, what to do

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  • JoeCrystal
    JoeCrystal Posts: 3,001
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    edited 8 September 2012 at 9:12AM
    innovate wrote: »
    24 is pretty late to start on a pension - - but better now than later/never

    http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/debt_e/debt_pensions_e/debt_starting_a_pension_e/why_have_a_pension.htm

    Pretty late? 24 is not late! I mean, once you finished uni, you would be 21. Of course, it may take a while before you realise that you need save up for a retirement eventually. I would put pretty late at 30 years old since you already potentially miss a decade of contribution but still got more decades to catch up with higher contribution.

    But then, maybe I am biased since I was 24 when starting my pension...

    Cheers

    Joe
  • Ok thanks for tips. I always thought once the tax year ended the old ISA just went to 0%.

    Now I have been put right I have opened a 3 Year fixed ISA at 3.75% with max in it. Next I want to max my S&S ISA.

    Would a sensible approach be to buy 5 investment trusts at £1,000 each in different investment areas to try and diversify?
  • Froggitt
    Froggitt Posts: 5,904 Forumite
    gadgetmind wrote: »
    You indulge in online gambling but regard investing as risky? :eek:

    I also gamble online (Betfair), but I'm now only playing with other people's money (ie my winnings), having also funded various holidays over the past ten years or so.

    Need a ready supply of muggs though to fund my continued success......must admit though its harder to make money now than it was say five years ago.

    Is it risky.....no not really if you have an edge over the rest of the "table".
    illegitimi non carborundum
  • innovate
    innovate Posts: 16,217
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    JoeCrystal wrote: »
    Pretty late? 24 is not late! I mean, once you finished uni, you would be 21. .......

    But then, maybe I am biased since I was 24 when starting my pension...
    OK OK, may be I am biased too - I started age 18, lol

    Other than severe lack of funds, there's no reason why people shouldn't start a lot earlier though - money such presents from family, CTFs, JISA etc can all go towards pension savings.
  • innovate
    innovate Posts: 16,217
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    gadgetmind wrote: »
    You indulge in online gambling but regard investing as risky?

    There are quite a few forms of online gambling that are a lot less risky, and normally a lot more profitable, than investing in funds, shares, trusts etc.

    Not all online gamblers are mugs :-)
  • gadgetmind
    gadgetmind Posts: 11,130
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    Would a sensible approach be to buy 5 investment trusts at £1,000 each in different investment areas to try and diversify?

    It would be very easy to do much worse, but -
    1) Many ITs only invest in equities. At your age, this isn't such a bad thing, but if you read Smarter Investing you'll understand the benefits of holding other asset classes.
    2) Diversification is great, but trading costs mean that you won't be able to rebalance very often. Again, not such a bad thing!
    3) Anything less than £1000 into each will mean you're paying a lot up front in dealing fees and stamp duty.
    4) Dealing costs will mean you'll be buying all at once rather than drip feeding.
    5) ITs tend to have lower fees than funds, but the gap is closing and neither can match passive investments.

    I don't want any of this to put you off, but you might be better drip-feeding money into a diversified fund and then selling this to buy into ITs as and when you fancy.
    I am not a financial adviser and neither do I play one on television. I might occasionally give bad advice but at least it's free.

    Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them.
  • Rollinghome
    Rollinghome Posts: 2,674
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    gadgetmind wrote: »
    It would be very easy to do much worse, but -
    1) Many ITs only invest in equities.

    To avoid any confusion: while that's true, it's equally true that some ITs (including the daddy of them all, Alliance) invest world-wide in equities, bonds, gilts, property and commodities, including gold, all within the same fund.
  • gadgetmind
    gadgetmind Posts: 11,130
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    True enough, and my three favourites (PNL, RIT and RICA) are also multi-asset ITs, but I wouldn't recommend any of these for those who are just starting the wealth accumulation phase.
    I am not a financial adviser and neither do I play one on television. I might occasionally give bad advice but at least it's free.

    Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them.
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